Uninvited Visitor - final

PRELIMINARY EXERCISE

What the audience thought

In order for my group to gain opinions And criticisms from viewers we showed our film to a an audience consisting of fellow class mates and school teachers in the assembly hall.


The audience were given small pieces of paper and were instructed to note down their opinions on our film stating what they liked or disliked about the film. The sheets of paper were collected by me and my group allowing us to review the opinions given.

A majority of viewers liked our music

" i like the music throughout"
"enjoyed it , muic was good too ! "

and were very impressed with the cliff hanger at the end of our film

" it had a good cliff hanger ending"

Overall the majority of the feedback were positive and felt very rewarding and made me feel that my groups effort put into this film was worth it and lived up to our expectations of it.

Closure

This blog is now closed.

Closure

This blog is now closed.

dat 4 filming

On the fourth day of filming all the characters were on set.


We first filmed the victims walking past the villain in the phone box unaware of his presence thanks to his camouflaged disguise.

We then filmed the victims walking across a pathway in a park with the villain following them behind. I mostly used pan shots movements and wide shots.

We then did some more filming shots of the victims walking side by side using a two shot ,shot.

Idea 2

An idea i have suggested is to leave a cliff hanger at the end of the film to leave the viewers in suspense making them sit at the edge of their seats.

This will be shown after the villain has entered the house and this is the part expected to where the climax of the film will commence but then it will end showing the villain slowly opening door and the camera tilting up to the ceiling , blocking the viewers view of the villains next move.

Evaluation Slide

Evaluation Presentation

Film Story line

After conjuring up our ideas together we finally came up with a storyline for our two minute film. Corrine suggested that we should perhaps involve two female characters in our film allowing us to be apart of the acting in our film.


We wanted our storyline to be simple in order for it to be easily followed and understood by the viewer with the help of the mise-en-scene and content simply speaking for itself.
As our genre is thriller we decided to involve the typical binary opposition to influence our characterisation with good and evil.

The story line consists of two female victims who are unaware that they are being followed by a stranger , they then lead the villain to a house which they enter and the villain then breaks in and becomes an 'uninvited visitor' hence the title of the name who is not welcomed as he is a threat to both of their lives.

Final film

Treatment posts

1. Is your idea practically possible to film?

My group have ensured that the content of the film is realistic and will be possible to film. We have also decided to add some sort of simplicity to the scenes avoiding an influence to punch above our belts and not reach towards a realistic goal.

2. Will it shows off the strengths of every member of your group?

In order for the production of out film to be a success my myself and group members will be taking on different roles with responsibilities, these will involve editing , filming , acting and directing. We will ensure that each group member will partake in the construction of our film reflecting their strengths and abilities and most importantly improve on their weak areas.
3. Can it be story boarded?

The story line we have created can be story boarded and will display each separate scene to help us with our organization and timing whilst filming.

4. Is it something you can reasonable shoot and edit in the time available? (two weeks shooting, six months editing)

Yes the time given to us to is reasonable and hopefully we will be able to accomplish the completion of our film before the deadline. Hopefully there will not be any disturbances to distract us.

5. can you get access/ permission to shoot in your chosen location?

The location we have decided to film in is a public area enabling us to film freely with no permission and this is a great advantage for the group.

6. Would lighting/ sound be an issue on location?

As we will be working in a considerably busy area near a train station and main road , there will be some noises in the background but hopefully we will able to edit the sound.
The area we are filming will be dark and we will be filming at night time , the area also has poor lighting however this is what we want for a dark and scary environment.

7. Are you going to include dialogue?

No, by doing this it will allow the viewer to concentrate more on the on the scenes.

8. Who will be your characters on the screen? are the reliable? will continuity be an issue?

The characters involved in the filming will be two of my group members and my sister and their punctuation will hopefully be reliable in order to include the important feature of continuity.

9. Have you thought of style of credits/ soundtrack?

Yes, the credits will be written in an impact font in the colour on a black background and the films title will be in the colour red signifying its importance .

Evaluation

Overall producing my own film was a very interesting and insightful experience. Helping me to understand the film making industry by practicing it first hand and using the latest technological equipment to develop it.

Problem 2

The area around Turkey street train where we have decided to shoot our film has been temporarily closed and out of bounds to the public because of an incident involving a fatal stabbing :| (*gulp*).


Hopefully it will be open soon in order for us to continue the process of filming.

This has given my group an experience of having an unexpected external problem that can affect the production of a film, all we can try do is overcome it and continue as normal.

Group Discussion 3

My group have made the decision that i will be the camera man , this job entails Directing , learning how to use camera equipment and ensuring that i use a wide range of camera movements, angles and shots.


Corrine and Vicky have accepted to play the roles of the two female victims, this job entails dressing appropriately to fit the mise-en-scene, following instructions from the director and basic acting skills.

A friend of Corrine's had accepted our invitation to be involved with the production of our film and has agreed to play the male villain in our film.

Seven opening credits 2

I found the opening credits of seven very interesting and it introduced the film in a very captivating way.

The credits display a mixture of scenes of the criminal at work , with the credits shown in a wired type of font flashing and shaking possible reflecting the instability and awkwardness of the siutation that the film is about.


I would like to use the technique of showing a mixture of scenes using fast paced shot cuts to show a variety of scenes that could summarize the content of my film without giving away too much to viewer i would like to think of it as preparing the viewer for what they are about too watch.

Seven opening credits


Group Discussion 2

Before we begin the process of filming my group has made suggestions on who should take on particular job roles for the filming.In order for our film to be successful we need a Camera man to capture the scenes, Two females to play the victims and a male character to play the villan.


After these job roles are accepted by the individual, we will ensure to make them understand the responsibilities that came with the chosen job role.



Rough Edit 2



This rough edit clip shows our first go at creating the credits for our two minute film , i like the first opening scene alot with the flash of light emerging into the words NBC UNIVERSAL , this looks really realistic as i have seen this technique of editing in alot of film credits. It makes the words instantly eye catching and shows the film companys importance.We decided to use a montage of gloomy scenes showing the scary environment the film is set within.

We decided to make the font impact bold and the colour white so it can stand out visibly having a contrast with the dark scenes, i also think that the pace of the credits should be a tad bit slower so that they are easily readable.

Rough edit 1


This clip was video recorded on my smart phone then uploaded on to my computer to put on on my blog. The clip shows a van driving past the films villan , then showing the villan suddenly dissapearing creating suspense to the viewer of the villans wearabouts. I am hoping this will have an impact on the viewer making them feel uncomfortable and uneased whilst watching my thriller giving them an experience as if they are involved in the awkward situation unraveling before their eyes.

The car driving past was unintentional but myself and my group loved the idea that it gave us of a disappearing act. Unfortunately i stopped the camera too soon , making the van passing by incomplete , then it jumps to another scene of the phone box being empty.

My self and my group need to find someway of changing this and making this flaw seamless and unnoticeable. I was thinking maybe we could use a series of fast jump cuts to edit it.

day 3 filming

On the third days of filming a new character was introduced in the filming and this was the villain played by my sister. The costume she wore was mostly the colour black to represent the darkness of her character.


She wore a hooded jacket with a black scarf covering her face enabling her to identity adding mystery and suspense to her character as well hiding her feminine facial features as the character she played was supposed to a male.

We filmed the villain in a phone box patiently waiting for his victims to pass by.
The camera was across the road filming and i did a mid shot to film this scene.

I then filmed a scene where a blue van passes by the villain in the phone box and i will be editing this to make it look like the villain supernaturally disappeared.

day 2 filming

On the second day of filming we continued to film the scenes of both victims walking down the road , we ensured that the characters wore the same clothes they did the day before to help with the continuation of the filming.


We filmed both characters walking in three different locations instead of filming them walk all the way to the final destination we decided to use jump cuts to make time pass by, by showing them walking in each different location.

The continuity of them walking was very important and we also ensured that the three different areas wasn't too far apart so that they had similar features in surroundings to avoid confusion to the viewer.


day 1 filming

On the first day of filming my responsibility was to make sure that the video camera was fully charged and too bring the other equipment used to film.


After my group members came to my house we then walked to our chosen film location.
As i knew the area well i showed my group members around showing them the possible places we could film.

Both my group members wore appropriate costumes to contribute to the mise-en-scene.

After setting up the filming equipment we then began to film the scary environment of the area mainly filming dark , gloomy trees and the night sky possibly to use for establishing shots to give help establish the location to the viewer.

I mainly used smooth pan shot movements to pan across the scenery to give the viewer a clear view of the surroundings within the film.

We then began to film shots of both victims walking down the street, it then began to get extremely cold and late and we decided to call it a night.

The first day of filming was very exciting and i am looking forward to filming again.

Camera Movements

Here are some camera movements that i would consider using in my two minute film. These camera shots would be great to use because i think they would compliment the genre of my film by allowing to me film my scenes

Camera Pan

A pan is a horizontal camera movement in which the camera moves left and right about a central axis. This is a swiveling movement, i.e. mounted in a fixed location on a tripod or shoulder.

This type of camera movement will allow me to show the viewer different views of the content within a shot.

It would be great to use for an establishing shot showing an overall view of the environment within the scene. It is important that my pans should be smooth and seamless.

Zoom Shot

Zooming means altering the focal length of the lens to give the illusion of moving closer to or further away from the action.

This shot could be used to emphasize the importance of something in a scene of my film by allowing the viewer to see it from a distance and suddenly having a full blown image of it before their eyes , exposing the object or person for all to see.


Follow Shot

The follow shot follows the subject ot action. The following distance is usually kept more or less constant.

This could be done with Hand-held follow-shots , but unfortunately this would be shakey and unsteady.


Pedestal Shot

A pedestal shot means moving the camera vertically with respect to the subject. This is often referred to as "pedding" the camera up or down.

Problem 1

Unfortunately Corrine's friend is unable to play the villain therefore we have decided to go on a search for a new person to play the part.


Hopefully the search will be successful!

idea 1

I came up with an idea suggesting that my group should film at night time to have an emphasis on the scary atmosphere for the films mise-en-scene. The dark environment will allow the villain to camouflage and become unseen by the two victims , the dark environment will also represent the dark and evil character of the villain.

Group discussion 1


Before we decided to start filming myself and my group decided to have a discussion about where we should set our film. One of my group mates suggested a park around her area so we decided to check visit the park and we came to a conclusion that the park was not scary enough for a thriller film to be set in.


We needed a scary , dark and gloomy environment with tall trees , bushes and enclosed spaces like an alleyway for example. A typical environment that any body would expect something creepy to happen down there.

And an area where i lived near by fitted this exact description , i took my group members there and they were very impressed with it , so we decided to shoot our film there.

Soundtrack

1

Classification of film

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally 'British Board of Film Censors',is a non-governmental organization, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom.

All films and games rated by the BBFC receive a certificate, along with "consumer advice" detailing references to sex, violence and coarse language. If a certificate specifies that a film or video game is only suitable for someone over a certain age, then only those over that age may buy it.

Here are the certificates :
Universal :All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children.
Parental Guidance: General viewing, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8.
12A: May be unsuitable for under 12s. Those aged under 12 are only admitted if accompanied by an adult at all times during the performance (cinema only).

12 : Suitable only for those aged 12 and over.

15: Suitable only for those aged 15 and over.

18:Suitable only for adults.


R18: For adults only.



Discrimination
The two minute film as a whole does not endorse discriminatory
language or behavior.


Horror
Strong threat and menace included in our film are permitted and is not sadistic
or sexualized.

Language
There is no dialogue in our film apart from dramatic music playing in the background.

Violence
The violence in our film is implied and does not dwell on the infliction
of pain or injury.

For our own film we have decided to give our two minute film a certificate 15 , according to the rules of the BBFC. Making this decision involved researching the criteria of each age certificate trying to figure out what our film classified as and we came to a conclusion that a certificate 15 would be reasonably appropriate.

Here are the official bbfc guidelines on classification of films

Classification Guidelines

Student Guide to Bbfc

First Draft of Two minute film

Audiences reaction to first draft of two mintue film

Our group decided to show our fellow classmates what we had accomplished so far on the films editing. By doing this we were given an insight on others opinions of our work whilst receiving constructive criticism to improve it also.

Many were impressed with what we were able to achieve ,as we had unfortunately lost a group member, leaving me and my partner having to work twice as hard to get the work done successfully.

It was suggested that the scene where the van drove past the phone box should be edited, using more techniques, transforming the editing to have more jagged and rough cutting shots, representing the difficulty and uneasiness of the situation unfolding before the viewers eyes.

The ending of the film gained positive remarks from my classmates , most of them commented on how they liked the way camera tilted to a high angle showing the door opening , whilst the "uninvited visitor" is unseen from viewers point of view, creating suspense and a nervous atmosphere.

Progress on my two minute film - part 2


Whilst filming our two minute clip , my group and i realized that things would not go according to plan. We made a lot of drastic changes to our original idea along the way and i personally think we made a right a decision.


Unfortunately we did not use any dialogue in our film, however we thought that this would create a great effect on our film , leaving the viewer to pay more attention to the mise-en-scene and background music , indulging in the frightening atmosphere we have carefully constructed in our film. Allowing them to think up their own story line , wondering about the events before and after this event shown in the slip.
This way the viewer is involving themselves , giving the movie a unique personal perspective by exploring their imagination.

Editing our film














In class we have been working on editing our films on 'i-movie' on the macs. It is very simple and straight forward to use allowing me and partner carry out any editing techniques without any difficulties. The editing has proven to be a very long and time consuming process , ensuring that our short clip comes across professional and impressive as possible.

There are so many things that we can change and alter using 'i-movie' , from cropping / shortening clips , editing the background sound and changing the speed of a clip , transforming it into slow motion for example. Allowing so many aspects of the clip to be manipulated.

Whilst editing i find it very important to ask for my partners opinion on the changes being made, enabling her to enforce her own ideas on the editing, which is really helpful . I am looking forward to continue editing my two minute clip and watching the end result.